IT'S THE GREAT PUMPKIN,
CHARLIE BROWN !!

        

On Halloween night, the entire gang, less Linus and later Sally, leave for a night of trick-o-treating followed by a Halloween party at Violet's house. Linus convinces Sally to sit with him in the pumpkin patch 'cause the GREAT PUMPKIN will ascend from the patch, fly around the neighbourhood to hand out toys to all the good children !! Lucy thinks her brother's a fool for believing in the myth and year after year the GREAT PUMPKIN has been a no show. She even stops by the pumpkin patch to poke fun at him. But Linus is a *believer* and ignores her as she scoffs at him on her way back to trick-o-treating.

But not everyone has been collecting goodies. Poor Charlie Brown. For every house he's visited, he's collected a bag of rocks. And at Violet's house, he's forced to become the Halloween model while Violet draws on the back of his head to show Lucy what a real Jack-o-lantern face looks like.

By the end of the night, Sally realizes she's been had. She yells at Linus and runs off when she she sees that the GREAT PUMPKIN figure that arrived is just a beagle. But Linus stays behind and is convinced that the beagle will hand out toys. Unfortunately not. Poor Linus. Eventually he falls asleep shivering in the cold. And when Lucy finds out that her baby brother is still waiting in the cold pumpkin patch, she goes out to fetch him, haul him home, toss him in bed, and calls it a night. The next day, Linus and Charlie Brown exchange stories about their disappointing evening.

There are alternate versions of this endearing cartoon classic. The original television version and older video releases are edited. Several scenes in which Charlie Brown announced that he received a rock ... again ... are omitted. Furthermore, older versions also edit out Snoopy dancing around Shroeder while he plays some piano tunes. The newer Paramount video releases are complete and unedited. Running time remains at approximately 25 minutes and 27 seconds.

In 2000, Paramount released IT'S A GREAT PUMPKIN, CHARLIE BROWN on DVD format but with only one extra feature, a bonus program titled YOU'RE NOT ELECTED, CHARLIE BROWN. Although there are no further extras, DVD reviewers have rated the DVD release as highly recommended with a A+ rating for both image and audio quality transfer with the aspect ratio at 1:33 to 1.

The actual image transfer shows some artifacting with some noticeable graininess in the picture quality, but this is probably due to the age of the program. However, Paramount does a good job of trying to maintain the original colours, especially the oranges and reds which show off the pumpkin patch and Snoopy's WWII Flying Ace uniform colours. The audio transfer is presented in its original mono form.

Various pieces of memorabilia remain popular with fans, including Peanuts action figures, books, and much more for the avid collector.